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Comey Memo: Would Asking to End Probe Be Obstruction?

Some lawmakers are accusing President Donald Trump of obstruction of justice after revelations that James Comey wrote a private account of the president asking him to shut down an investigation. But obstruction of justice is a tricky issue. (Published Wednesday, May 17, 2017)

Illinois Congressman Adam Kinzinger called for an independent commission or special prosecutor to investigate recent allegations against President Donald Trump Wednesday, making him among the first Congressional Republicans to push for further investigation of the growing controversies.

“It seems like every day there’s some new information to pop,” Kinzinger said in an interview on CNN Wednesday. “Yesterday it was this idea of speaking and giving intelligence information, today it’s the idea of did in fact -- was there a quote-unquote coverup or an attempt to cover up or an attempt to obstruct justice. This is very concerning.”

Kinzinger said during the interview that the circumstances surrounding the president and an investigation into Russia’s alleged interference in the 2016 election “has become too political.”

“I think it’s time that we look at the idea, whether it’s an independent commission or a special prosecutor, I’m not sure the best venue, but I think it’s time that we do whatever is necessary,” he told CNN.

“These are troubling revelations," Rep. Peter Roskam said in a statement. "It is the President’s responsibility to protect America’s secrets from America’s enemies. It is alarming to read reports suggesting President Trump revealed classified information to Vladimir Putin’s adversarial regime."

John McCain, chairman of the Senate Armed Services Committee, said late Tuesday that the developments had reached "Watergate size and scale."

But House Speaker Paul Ryan argued against a rush to judgment on the revelations while Congress exercises its oversight authority over the president.